Having Eyes to See

By: Jason Amato

This time of year in the hunting community everything revolves around turkeys. Hunters glass field after field looking for some strutting toms putting on a display for all to see. Personally, I’ve always thought my fellow hunters were crazy when they would describe the excitement and anticipation around turkey season. I’m a whitetail hunter with the bow so the idea of some bird getting my blood going seemed highly unlikely.

That was until I finally gave it a try last May in Wisconsin with my cousin Hunter. Hunter had been doing some scouting the week prior and knew there was at least two toms (mature, male turkeys) in the area. We brushed in our Double Bull blind and settled in to watch the sunrise. I remember thinking this would be a great setup for a nap. As the sun rose, the silence was pierced by the loud gobbling of a tom. Before we could get the camera ready, he appeared 100 yards away along a fence line. My first thought was “this is going to be easy!” I was about to learn a lesson in just how smart these birds truly are and why hunters get so worked up over these Thanksgiving Day gobblers.

This turkey had us pegged from the moment he entered the field. Every time I’d think he was about to come into the decoy, he’d circle around keeping way beyond bow range. Nothing we did, could call this guy in! Later that morning a different tom came into view and preceded to do the same avoidance dance the first bird did. My excitement turned into frustration as it was becoming increasingly clear that I had underestimated my adversary. I had heard the stories over the years about these birds legendary vision. Now I had witnessed it firsthand. In the whitetail woods, I’m focused on avoiding a deer’s nose. Seeing this amazing display of vision gave me a new appreciation and respect for the wild turkey.

A turkey’s eyes are located on the side of its head allowing these birds to cover 270 degrees field of vision. This is known as periscopic vision due to the fact that they can see objects that are not in their direct line of sight. Add to this the fact that turkey see in color and you get around three times the eyesight of us humans! It’s this excellent vision that keeps them safe from predators as they walk along the forest floor.

Next weekend, will mark my second season turkey hunting. In preparing for the hunt, I keep thinking about the difference in vision between a turkey and me. I just see what’s in front of me and a turkey sees everything around it. What if I could see like that? What dangers would I avoid? What exciting opportunities would I discover? What risks would I take? What attitudes and perspectives would change? What we see affects so much of our outlooks. Which is pretty scary considering we see only one-third as much as a bird!

It has become evident to me as I grow older that life is all about perspective. Many of the most joyful people I know probably have the least appealing circumstances and life experiences. How is this possible? Could it be they see the things all around them, not just the trials in front of them? The biggest risk-takers I know have taken risks that seemed to make no sense to me. Could it be they saw beyond the present obstacle and viewed the future blessings around the bend?

My father once shared with me a powerful example of perspective he calls the Thumb Principle. As small as your thumb is, it has the power to blot out the sun, moon or Willis Tower. If you shut one eye and hold your thumb up to anyone of these objects you can block them out at the right distance. Sadly, too many times this is true of our circumstances or what’s standing in front of us. Though small in the grand scheme of life, they can cast a powerful shadow over everything else. However, when we step back and see just how small our thumb is compared to these huge objects, it changes everything! It’s all about our perspective.

Over the years, I’ve tried to apply this example to my own life. Am I viewing my circumstances with the backdrop of an Almighty God who loves me dearly or is my perspective of God being based on the circumstances I face in front of me? Like me, are you experiencing some sort of fear, frustration, disappointment or feeling of hopelessness in your life? I would encourage you that for many the remedy may be as simple as a perspective change.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe!” Ephesians 1:18-19